Most people who report a sudden onset of back pain find that it alleviates within a relatively short period of time without significant medical intervention. An example of this could be someone performing a lift of a heavy object off of the ground and “throwing out” the lower back. A few days of rest and […]
What Exercises Can I Do For My Lower Back While Driving?
Several times per month I make a two-hour drive from DC to West Virginia. This has given me countless driving hours to test out strategies to deal with lower back stiffness and pain. I can proudly say that I have come up with a few remedies to deal with my lower back when it starts […]
Low Back Problems Can Be a Real Pain in the Butt
After suffering a low back injury a few years back, I realized I needed to make some changes. I had always been very active and strong. I could lift far more than the average person. I played multiple sports as a youth and continued through my young adult life. I worked hard labor jobs from […]
Beauty is Pain: Effects of Wearing High Heels
If you’ve ever been to physical therapy, then you might have noticed that posture is often a topic of conversation… and usually it’s more about your bad posture. Posture affects things from range of motion, strength potential, and even pain. Let me demonstrate how posture can be affected by something as simple as footwear, and […]
Sitting All Day & Experiencing Lower Back Pain?
Sitting at work every day and experiencing lower back pain? The following list outlines exactly what happens to your lower back with sitting, and what you can do about it. 1. During sitting, most people will eventually fall into a posterior pelvic tilt (as shown below). What to do? Take a look at how your […]
Can a “Sashay” Cause Lower Back Pain?
The short answer is yes. The word “sashay” by definition is “to walk in an ostentatious yet casual manner, typically with exaggerated movements of the hips and shoulders.” The sashay brings to mind images of models walking down runways, divas “strutting their stuff,” and the general positive connotation of female confidence. As empowering and popular […]
Road Trip Tips from a Physical Therapist
The weather is getting nice and people are going to start wanting to drive out a few hours to get to the beach or to the mountains to go camping. It’s road trip time! Any physical therapist would request that an office worker not sit for more than a 1-2 hour duration, and the same […]
Poor Posture at Work? Do Something About It!
Any patient with a repetitive overuse injury who walks into our clinic will be asked the following question upon evaluation, “What does your work desk set-up look like?” Countless bouts of thumb tendonitis, back pain, elbow epicondylitis, and other maladies could be avoided if employers only took the time to make basic modifications to computer […]
A Genetic Link to Back Pain?
Researchers in the United Kingdom recently linked the “Park2” gene to degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine. Degenerative disc disease, or DDD, can manifest as shooting pain into the buttocks/legs, general stiffness and pain in the lower back, and in severe cases, loss of muscle strength (usually on one side) noticeable with daily activities. […]